The silence of civilised world on Balochistan

 The silence of civilised world on Balochistan

By Shahid Baloch

Baloch national leader Hyrbyair Marri has played a significant and leading role in the ongoing Baloch national movement since 1996. Initially, the pioneers of the current phase of Baloch freedom struggle worked in secrecy and held closed workshops. However, in the late 90s the Baloch youth, the pioneers of the ongoing freedom movement started to promote their ideas in public. Soon, people from Kohlu to Gwadar started to join the freedom movement and it became the popular and attractive movement among the Baloch youth, many Baloch abandoned their jobs, homes, and comfortable life to became part of the Baloch national liberation struggle. The great advantage of the newly started movement was that nobody knew who is leading this popular struggle hence it is possible some people might have also joined the struggle because they wanted to know more about it.  Even though it’s hard to believe but some of us thought that maybe Sardar Atta Ullah Mengal, Akthar Mengal, Dr Hayee might be the leader of the Baloch freedom movement because Hyrbyair Marri who is the pioneer of this struggle remained low profile like other leaders of world’s popular liberation struggles. He doesn’t believe in show off rather he is someone who genuinely feels the pain of the Baloch nation and wanted to do something to get rid of this collective pain of Baloch nation forever.

Even though it’s hard to believe but some of us thought that maybe Sardar Atta Ullah Mengal, Akthar Mengal, Dr Hayee and other who were active in parliamentarian politics might be the leaders of the Baloch freedom movement because Hyrbyair Marri who is the pioneer of this struggle remained low profile like other leaders of world’s popular liberation struggles. He doesn’t believe in show off rather he is someone who genuinely feels the pain of the Baloch nation and wants to do something to get rid of this collective pain of Baloch nation forever.

We as activists in Balochistan who we were part of the movement could not comprehend that Hyrbyair Marri is leading the movement. We only got to know him when he was arrested in London by the British government to appease the Pakistani dictator general Musharraf’s regime.

From 1996 to 1999 he unified the nation and Baloch movement under his leadership because he was well connected with Baloch youth from different areas of Balochistan. The first time in the history of Baloch movement Hyrbyair Marri and his fellows have succeeded in spreading out the movement all over Balochistan, before this insurrection all other major insurgencies of 1948, 1962, 1958, and 1974 were limited to Jhalawan, Kalat and Marri agency aka Kohistan Marri. The current movement spread all over Balochistan because of the statesmanship and broader vision of Hyrbyair Marri.

First time this insurgency engulfed all the Baloch areas and masses whole heartily stood up for this movement. The rapid speed of the struggle and its popularity has forced Pakistani state to start using its military might and brutal force to suppress the movement approximately 5000 people have so far been killed in custody and 20,000 Baloch have been made victims of enforced disappearances since 2001.

The Pakistani forces abducted and continue to abduct people from all occupations including doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, singers, poets, students, women, children, elderly and human rights activists. To name a few victims professor Sabah Dashtyari of Balochistan university Quetta and professor Razzak Baloch of Kuhzdar university were assassinated by Pakistani forces.  Faqir Mohammad Baloch, a poet, was killed in Mastung and in July same year the Pakistani forces abducted and killed students Ashfaq Ahmed Baloch and Mohmmad Farooq in Quetta. Ilyas Nazar, Yousaf Nazar, Qambar Chakar, Raza Jhangir and several other student leaders have also been brutally murdered by the criminal army of Pakistan.

The situation in Balochistan continues to deteriorate and the motherland – Balochistan – has been made unsafe for its own sons and daughters by the occupying state of Pakistan. The situation of Balochistan is worse than that of East Timor, Kosovo Bosnia where the international community acted against their intruders and occupiers but they remain silent over the atrocities against the Baloch nation.  It is high time the international community should come forward to stop Pakistan from committing Baloch genocide. It is also pertinent that all Baloch freedom loving people should form alliance and rally behind the visionary leader of Baloch nation Hyrbyair Marri to counter the brutal and inhuman acts of Pakistan and persuade the UN and the civilised nations of the world to recognise Baloch national freedom.

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